GhanaStar
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music
No Result
View All Result
GhanaStar
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music
No Result
View All Result
GhanaStar
No Result
View All Result
Home Headlines

Germany Demands Answers From the US Over WikiLeaks’ Claims

March 8, 2017
in Headlines
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Germany has demanded answers from the US over claims by WikiLeaks that there is a CIA listening post in Frankfurt.

You Might Also Like

Ghanaian Can Travel to South Africa Visa-Free

2019 – the Biggest Year yet for Ghanaian Tourism

Three Britons On Trial In Singapore Accused of Gang-Raping Drunk Woman

Berlin’s top prosecutor will examine documents released by the anti-secrecy group and launch an investigation if it sees concrete indications of wrongdoing, a spokesman said.

WikiLeaks claim the files show that the CIA used the U. S. consulate in Frankfurt as a major remote hacking base.

A spokesman for the German foreign ministry said today that Berlin was in close touch with Washington about the documents, which Wikileaks said showed that the CIA used the U. S. consulate in Frankfurt as a major remote hacking base.

He said Germany needed to verify the authenticity of the documents.

Yesterday a cache of documents purportedly from the CIA and released by Wikileaks suggested the US spy agency can turn your TV into a listening device, bypass popular encryption apps, and possibly control your car.

The group posted nearly 9,000 documents it said were leaked from the Central Intelligence Agency, in what it described as the largest-ever publication of secret intelligence materials.

The documents allegedly come from the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence, which operates both from its Langley, Virginia, headquarters near Washington, and from an office in the US consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, according to WikiLeaks.

‘The archive appears to have been circulated among former US government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive,’ the group said.

WikiLeaks claimed that a vast trove of CIA documents, hacking tools and code representing ‘the majority of its hacking arsenal’ were leaked within the cyber security community – and that it had received, and released, a part of them.

If corroborated, the leak could represent a huge new embarrassment to US intelligence, adding to Edward Snowden’s 2013 expose of National Security Agency spying on Americans’ communications, and the arrest last year of an NSA official for removing massive amounts of top-secret material to his home over 20 years.

WikiLeaks said the data shows that the CIA is now rivalling the NSA, the US government’s main electronic spying body, in cyber warfare, but with less oversight.

The archive shows the CIA exploiting weaknesses it discovers in hardware and software systems, including those made by US companies – without letting anyone know about the flaws in question.

Documents show the CIA has produced more than 1,000 malware systems – viruses, trojans and other software that can infiltrate and take control of personal electronics, WikiLeaks noted.

These hacking tools have targeted iPhones, Android systems such as the personal phone reportedly still used by President Donald Trump, popular Microsoft software, and Samsung smart TVs, which can be transformed into covert microphones, according to WikiLeaks.

The agency has also examined hacking into the electronic control systems on cars and trucks, potentially enabling it to control them remotely.

By infecting and effectively taking over the software of smartphones, WikiLeaks said, the CIA can get around the encryption technologies of popular apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, and Confide by collecting communications before they are encrypted.

The CIA would neither confirm nor deny the documents were genuine.

‘We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents,’ said spokesman Jonathan Liu in an email.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer declined to comment, saying ‘That’s something that has not been fully evaluated.’

But Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representatives’s Intelligence Committee, said the disclosures ‘appear to be very, very serious.’

‘We are very concerned,’ he said.

Snowden, who was a contract employee for the NSA before he stole and leaked secret materials, said via Twitter that the document trove ‘looks authentic.’

WikiLeaks said the documents’ leak suggests that the CIA has not sufficiently controlled its own cyber weapons, potentially permitting them to fall into the hands of other hackers.

Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, blasted the CIA for not helping companies plug the security gaps in their devices.

‘The dark side of this story is that the documents confirm that the CIA holds on to security vulnerabilities in software and devices – including Android phones, iPhones, and Samsung televisions – that millions of people around the world rely on,’ she said in a statement.

‘As these leaks show, we’re all made less safe by the CIA’s decision to keep – rather than ensure the patching of – vulnerabilities.’

The release showed WikiLeaks’s readiness to continue publishing secret material on the United States despite having been severely criticized in Washington for last year’s leaks of materials that damaged Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid.

US intelligence officials said in January that WikiLeaks had knowingly or unknowingly become a tool of a high-level Russian operation to interfere in the US election with those disclosures.

Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.

Tags: androidBerlinCentral Intelligence AgencychairmanCIA's CenterCindy CohnDevin NunesDonald TrumpEdward Snowdenelectronic control systemsElectronic Frontier Foundationencryptionencryption technologiesEspionageExecutive DirectorFrankfurtgermanygovernmentHillary ClintonHouse of Representatives's Intelligence CommitteeJonathan LiuLangleymalware systemsMicrosoftNational securityNational Security AgencyNews leaksofficialOpen governmentpersonal electronicsPhones & Handheld Devices - NECpoliticspresidentprosecutorReception of WikiLeakssaid spokesmansamsungSean SpicerSmartphonesSocial Media & NetworkingSoftware - NECsoftware systemsspokesmanTechnology_Internettrojans and other softwaretwitterU. S. consulate in FrankfurtUnited StatesUS governmentUS intelligenceVirginiawashingtonWhatsAppWhistleblowingWhite Housewikileaks

Related News

Ghanaian Can Travel to South Africa Visa-Free

by
July 10, 2019
0

Citizens of Ghana no longer need a visa to travel to South Africa. This is because the South African Government...

2019 – the Biggest Year yet for Ghanaian Tourism

by
January 24, 2019
0

2018 was a good year for tourism in Ghana with more than GH₵5.8 billion spent in the country's travel and...

Three Britons On Trial In Singapore Accused of Gang-Raping Drunk Woman

by
August 1, 2017
0

Three British men have gone on trial in Singapore today accused of gang-raping a 23-year-old woman while visiting the city-state...

Pakistani Taliban Launches Women’s Magazine

by
August 1, 2017
0

The Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday released the first edition of a magazine for women, apparently aiming to convince its target...

Next Post

Two Dead In Bombing of Syria Rebel Bastion Despite Truce

Police Avert Clash Between Residents and Marwako Staff

Categories

  • Africa & World
  • African Music Lyrics Directory
  • Business
  • Business Directory
  • celebrities
  • Computing
  • Diaspora
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Feature
  • Featured
  • Ghana Elections 2016
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • International
  • Internet
  • Jobs
  • lifestyle
  • Music
  • News
  • Offbeat
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Profiles
  • Religion
  • Security
  • Seth Terkper
  • Smart Home
  • Social Networks
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top Stories
  • World News

Tags

accra addo africa Association football Banks - NEC business Business_Finance chairman Donald Trump economy education Entertainment_Culture environment Geography of Africa ghana Ghanaian people government Government of Ghana Human Interest John Dramani Mahama john mahama Law_Crime mahama minister MPs elected in the Ghanaian parliamentary election Nana Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Nana Akufo-Addo National Democratic Congress National Democratic Congress (NDC) New Patriotic Party New Patriotic Party (NPP) nigeria politics Politics of Ghana president Social Issues Social Media Social Media & Networking sports United Kingdom United Nations United States Vice President War_Conflict

Recent Posts

  • Government of Ghana Unveils Official Portraits of President John Dramani Mahama and Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
  • Who Is the Woman (Sheena Gakpe) in Sarkodie’s Latest Hit “No Sir” and Why Everyone Is Talking about It
List of Ghana Holidays for 2020
Ghana Geocoding
Ghana Cedis Exchange API
Ghana Maps Service
Toyota Cars Auto Auction History
  • African Music Lyrics Directory
  • Business Directory
  • Diaspora
  • Top Stories

All rights reserved © 2021 GhanaStar.com

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music

All rights reserved © 2021 GhanaStar.com